MH-268 Deru - Say Goodbye To UselessSay Goodbye To Useless is Deru’s third full-length release, and his first for Mush Records. While you will find similar aesthetics to his previous releases – moody, atmospheric sounds, haunting melodies and organic textures – they are augmented by his most mature song-writing and cutting-edge beats to date. The album pays homage to classic genres and structures while cultivating a 22nd century smart-party ethic that will snatch the ear of the snobbiest beat head. Deru’s listeners will continue to appreciate his drive for challenging them as much as he challenges himself.

Tracklist

01. I Would Like

02. I Want

03. Peanut Butter & Patience

04. Hello

05. Basically, Fuck You

06. Walk

07. Fadeaway

08. Days, Then...

09. What Happens When You Ask

10. Cottonmouth Lothario

11. Goodbye

Release Details

Release Date: 03/09/2010

Running Time: 46:08

Download/Available/$7.00

CD/Available/$10.00

LOSSLESS/Available/$10.00

Territory: World

Reviews Summary

This is definitely for fans of older Lusine but with a bit more noise, damage and darkness. - ISO50 / Say Goodbye To Useless is a pretty smart record all round. - The Milk Factory / Benjamin Winn’s third album, his debut for San Fran’s weird hoppers Mush, makes for spooky listen.- Clash / A fabulous effort and the first great album of 2010. - The Intricate Mess

Playing this album for the first time, I am immediately captivated by Deru’s charm. As a gorgeous opener, I Would Like is a French language acoustic ballad of the most startling kind featuring gentle guitar over a continuous backdrop of electronic static, and a children’s choir too boot. It is a gratifying start that promises great things. The second track I Want thankfully also delivers- a reworked version of the first track, it's more like a continuation featuring pulsating beats, fragmented keyboards and a child’s voice giving an almost alien effect reminiscent of Babylon Zoo’s 1996 hit Spaceman.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album never quite comes close to reaching the heights of these first two tracks, and like so many electronic albums, lacks depth and soul. It aims instead to create atmospheric sound-scapes that evoke futuristic imagery, but for all its 'otherworldliness', it is often devoid of feeling or emotion. It might make a great film soundtrack, but as a standalone album, I find it difficult to recommend.

The problem is that most of these sound-scapes, such as Basically, Fuck You and Cottonmouth Lothario descend into dullsville at about the two minute mark, and Peanut Butter and Patience’s messy and fractured beats never allow for something cohesive to develop. The songs are complex, multifaceted and harbour some great ideas, but ultimately, their similarity to one another makes for a rather monotonous listening experience. Even the album’s standout tracks such as Walk, which recalls Portishead’s Undenied, and the clarinet driven Fadeaway, succumb to this same blandness.

I am not usually in the habit of suggesting vocals on mostly instrumental albums, but in this case I am sure that it would have been greatly beneficial. The aspects that made Deru’s peers such as Portishead and Massive Attack so extraordinary were often the vocals and without them Deru’s songs lack structure and organisation, droning on with little reward. Say Goodbye to Useless is not by any means a bad album and I suppose it possesses an ambience that may suit the hangover after a long night out, but otherwise it remains uninspiring. - The Dwarf